Allina News

John Webster is using a left ventricular assist device he received at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

[Grand Rapids-Herald Review, August 21] In May 2010, Grand Rapids resident John Webster was about to die, by all reasonable suspicion. He has a history of heart-related issues, including a heart attack in 2005 at which time he had a stent put in.

With rapidly declining health, Webster at 67 years old was quickly losing his ability to even do basic tasks as his heart continued to fail. His doctor at Grand Itasca, Dr. Peter Friedlieb, knowing that they had exhausted their options at locally, spoke to Webster’s family to prepare them for the worst.

But before time was up, Friedlieb sent Webster to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis to see what, if anything, they could do to save his life.

Read the entire story at grandrapidsmn.com.

[Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Aug. 27, 2010] Twin Cities health providers are turning to remote video language interpreting as a way to better meet the needs of a growing number of immigrant patients.

“Typically, when we have a scheduled patient arrival, there will be an in-person interpreter. But with the [emergency department], it could be any time of the day or night, or weekends or holidays. We wanted to improve our speed to provide service,” said Tom Falkowski, director of patient access strategies at Allina, which introduced LAN to seven hospitals since it picked up the service in April. Read more online at Hospitals expanding translation programs – Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal (subscription required for full story).

[WHYY Radio, August 27, 2010] The death of a standout Philadelphia high school basketball player has renewed the debate about how to detect heart trouble in competitive athletes. In an interview about this issue, a pediatric cardiologist cites Barry Maron, MD, Minneapolis Heart Institute® at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. Maron leads a national registry that tracks sudden deaths in athletes. Read the full story on whyy.org.

[KMSP Fox 9 News, Aug. 25, 2010] Allergy sufferers are looking for any kind of relief they can get as they are getting hit hard by an early fall allergy season. Allina Medical Clinic Allergist Dr. Pramod Kelkar explains the cause and cautions about treatment options. Watch the story below and see more at myfoxtwincities.com.

[Ster Tribune, Aug. 24, 2010] University of Minnesota researchers say they have found a potential new treatment for HIV, using a mixture of two anti-cancer drugs that are already on the market. Researcher Louis Mansky said the two-drug combination killed off the HIV cells quickly, sometimes in a matter of hours, in the lab experiments.

“Any time Lou Mansky comes up with a novel approach, that’s news and that’s a good thing,” said Dr. Frank Rhame, a specialist in HIV/AIDS at Abbott Northwestern’s Clinic 42 in Minneapolis. “There’s a long way to go before you can ever use it to help people, but that’s a very good start.” Read the full story at startribune.com.

Laurie Aguirre

[Star Tribune, August 18, 2010] Laurie Aguirre, a Health Unit Coordinator at United Hospital in St. Paul, talks about her work. Read the interview online at startribune.com.

[KSTP-TV, August 18, 2010] With your kids heading back to school, do you know what they are eating when they are not at home? KSTP’s Megan Newquist chatted with Dr. Melissa Reinhardt from the Allina Medical Clinic in Farmington about some healthy food options for your kids at school. Watch the interview below or at kstp.com. Go to Allina’s Childhood Obesity Prevention page for more on healthy eating for your kids.

[KARE11, August 17, 2010] A Minnesota-based program that aims to improve child and family health is getting national attention for its effectiveness.

Johns Hopkins Hospital is among the organizations that have recognized the Allina Hospitals & Clinics’ Power by the Hour program as a promising way to promote a healthy lifestyle.

“The goal was to improve the health of kids in our community,” program creator Susan Nygaard said. “Help them engage in activity and learn more about nutrition.” Watch the story below and see more at kare11.com.

Allina provides the Power by the Hour curriculum within its service areas free of charge. Interested organizations can contact Nygaard at powerbythehour@allina.com. More information can be found at allina.com/community. There is more information about the Y’s programs on the YMCA’s website.

The ratio now taught for CPR is 30 chest compressions to two breaths.

[Star Tribune, August 17, 2010] Combine the socializing of a Tupperware party with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and you’ve got a “save-a-life” party. Save-a-life parties are designed to teach people to react quickly in emergencies, and, in particular, how to use CPR.

Save-a-life parties are more relaxed than CPR certification courses, which go for four hours and include a test. Participants also learn how to use AEDs — portable electronic devices that can deliver electric shocks to normalize heart rhythms during sudden cardiac arrest.

It’s part of a broader initiative called “Take Heart Minnesota,” aimed at boosting the survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest victims. Anoka County was one of only four areas chosen across the country to test the program, implemented by Allina Hospitals and Clinics. The Spring Lake Park-Blaine-Mounds View Fire Department has been a model for the parties, a concept developed through Allina’s Heart Safe Communities program. Read the full story at startribune.com.

[Herald Journal, August 16, 2010] “Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) affects 300,000 people each year, and the chances of survival are dismal,” according to Charles Lick, MD, emergency medical director for Allina Medical Transportation and Buffalo Hospital’s Emergency Department.

Unless victims are provided with adequate aid in a timely fashion—ideally CPR and a shock from an automated external defibrillator (AED) in the first three to five minutes—SCA is almost always fatal. However, the average response time for paramedics is eight to 10 minutes.

Wright County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is currently working with Take Heart™ Minnesota of Wright County to teach 10 percent of Wright County residents how to do CPR. Read the story at hjblogs.com.

[Allina Newsroom, August 16, 2010] Allina Medical Clinic – Northfield now offers new ways to interact online with your doctor. Instead of taking time out of your busy schdule to go to the clinic, you can log onto MyChart for e-visits and medical messaging. Read the full story on allina.com.

Anneliese and Piere Barnes are shown here with baby Pierre who was the first baby born in Buffalo Hospital's new Birth Center.

[Allina Newsroom, Aug 9, 2010] Anneliese Barnes of Albertville, Minnesota, gave birth to the first baby on opening day at Buffalo Hospital’s new Birth Center.

Baby boy Pierre Barnes was born August 2 at 4:32 p.m. Labor and delivery went smoothly for mom and baby who weighed eight pounds and four ounces, said Birth Center Manager Cindy Oquist, RN. Read more at allina.com.

Picking up the golden shovels to break ground Aug. 3 for the new 25,000 square-foot Allina Clinic, located on the corner of Sunwood Drive and Ramsey Boulevard, were PSD owner Jim Deal; Doug Hutchings from Mercy Hospital Foundation; Mayor Bob Ramsey; April Bowen; Becky Forsell; Dr. Ray Marier; Dr. Eric Barth, the lead physician at Ramsey’s Allina Clinic; Dr. Phil Hoversten, Executive Vice President of Allina Clinic and Community Division Dr. Bob Wieland and Dr. Rod Christensen.

[Anoka County Union, Aug. 4, 2010] Ground was broken Aug. 3 for the new 25,000 square-foot Allina Clinic by Allina Hospital and Clinics and city of Ramsey dignitaries.

The new one-story clinic will feature more space, a physical therapy area and a design that allows natural light into most areas.

The projected is expected to cost $5 million. Read the whole story at abcnewspapers.com.

Taking a dip at area lakes and pools was a popular way to beat the heat during this heat wave.

[Fox 9 News, Aug. 9, 2010] Allina Medical Transportation Operations Supervisor Kyle Strege knows paramedics will be hearing a lot more calls for heat exhaustion as the Twin Cities heat wave stretches later into the week. Read the full story on myfoxtwincities.com.

[Fast Company, September 2010] Many patients at Allina needed narcotics to manage chronic pain due to back problems or arthritis. Unfortunately, some patients were misusing or reselling the drugs. Everyone agreed on the goal: eliminate narcotics misuse. But good intentions hadn’t been enough. Read the full article at fastcompany.com.

[KSTP-TV, Aug. 4, 2010] Laparoscopic, or minimally invasive, surgical techniques are making all kinds of medical procedures quicker and safer for patients. Allina Medical Clinic – Shakopee surgeon Dr. Jayson Dock talked with KSTP-TV’s Megan Newquist about just what laparoscopic surgery is and how it’s being used. Watch the interview below.

[Savage Pacer, Aug. 9, 2010] Two familiar medical clinics – Allina and St. Francis – have been inked into plans to construct a two-story building on the southwest corner of county roads 42 and 27.

Mark Davis of Davis Real Estate Services Group LLC, said Allina will move its current Crossroads Clinic at the corner of County Road 42 and Highway 13 in Prior Lake and its Quello Clinic in Southcross Shoppes strip mall at the corner of County Road 42 and Huntington Avenue in Savage to the new building. Read the full story at savagepacer.com.

Earth tones and artistic touches help make the new Birth Center at the Buffalo Hospital comfortable and inviting. It is almost four times bigger than the former Birth Center. This corridor is lined with postpartum rooms that are almost hotel-like in appearance and style.

[Wright County Journal Press, Aug. 9, 2010] The first thing you notice upon entering the new Birth Center at Buffalo Hospital is the size. Long corridors and rows of hotel-like postpartum rooms are quite a contrast to the former Birth Center.

The space for the Birth Center has nearly quadrupled from about 4,500 square feet to around 17,800 square feet.

Warm earth tones on the walls and floors help give the new Birth Center a comfortable atmosphere, along with an art collection which is evident on many of the walls.

Read more at the drummer.com.

[New Ulm Journal, August 4, 2010] New Ulm has been named a “Heart Safe” community by  Allina Hospitals and Clinics.

Officials from Allina and New Ulm Medical Center gave the news and presented a certificate to the New Ulm City Council at its meeting on Tuesday. New Ulm is only the third community in Minnesota to receive the designation. Apple Valley and New Brighton are the other two.

Lori Burkhart, coordinator of the Allina Heart Safe Community Project in New Ulm, explained to the council what it takes to be a Heart Safe Community.

Read more at nujournal.com.

Penny and Bill George

[Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, August 3, 2010] The George Family Foundation, the foundation launched by former Medtronic CEO Bill George and his wife, has donated $556,000 to the University of Minnesota to provide nurses with integrative-medicine training.

The dollars will go to the university’s Center for Spirituality & Healing and the School of Nursing. The funds will support fellowships for more than 40 nurses through 2015. The Penny George Institute for Health and Healing, based at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, also will participate in the program. Read more at bizjournals.com and Allina Newsroom.

Scott Sharkey, M.D.

[Heart Matters, ReachMD XM Radio] Takotsubo, or stress-induced cardiomyopathy (also known as ‘broken heart syndrome’), was first recognized in Japan in the 1990s. Acute emotional or physical stress trigger the condition, which mimics the symptoms of a myocardial infarction (or MI). How can physicians differentiate between stress-induced cardiomyopathy and a more conventional MI, and how is stress-induced cardiomyopathy treated? What characteristics might make a patient more susceptible to developing this condition? Dr. Scott Sharkey, senior consulting cardiologist at Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and director of the Takotsubo cardiomyopathy research program at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation in Minnesota, shares some of the key diagnostic tests for differentiating between stress-induced cardiomyopathy and conventional MI. reachmd.com.

[Fox 12 News, Mankato, Minn.] In order to get advice or a diagnosis on a minor medical condition, people are used to making an appointment and going to see their doctor.

Now at New Ulm Medical Center, patients can take advantage of new, convenient services that allow them to check their symptoms and communicate with their physician via email. The services are called E-Visits and E-Messaging.

See the story on keyc.tv.

[KMSP-TV Fox 9, July 26, 2010] A man was rescued from Lake Nokomis on Monday. Brett Wildly was headed fishing when authorities say a 19-year-old man was hanging out with three friends mad decided to cool off and hop in from the dock. He  jumped in but didn’t come up. Friends say it felt like forever. Wildly was immediately in the water looking but didn’t locate Pedro for five minutes.

Dr. Charles Lick is director of emergency services at Allina’s Buffalo Hospital. He says people can survive for four to six minutes without oxygen to the brain and can get additional help from the body. “Some people have a larinja spasm where the vocal chords will shut preventing water from getting into the lungs so that may be a preventative reflex to prevent that too,” said Lick. Watch the full story below.

Dr. Stephen Remole checks out the shearing work by colleague Dr. William Fabian.

[Coon Rapids Herald, July 21, 2010] Dr. Stephen Remole parted with his signature locks Monday in the name of exercise.

In a matter of minutes, Remole’s gray locks were piled on the grass of the park behind Mercy Hospital and electrophysiologist was rubbing his hands along his hair-free head.

Remole’s new hairdo is the result of a successful fitness challenge among the staff and physicians at the Metropolitan Heart and Vascular Institute at Mercy Hospital. Read more at abcnewspapers.com.